PHILIP II and the Rise of the Macedonian Kingdom

Ancient Macedonia prospered on the fringe of the classical civilization epitomized by the Greek city-states. The monarchy of Macedonia was of Greek descent, and Philip II, ruler from 359 to 336 B.C. was determined to bring his kingdom into the mainstream of a unified Hellenistic civization under his leadership. He employed great thinkers at his court like Aristotle to tutor his young son, Alexander, later known as "the Great". His first expansions absorbed neighboring Thessaly and Thrace, whose rich mineral wealth proved to be the paymaster to finance his professional armies.

 The gold mines of Mount Pangaeum in Thrace yielded about 1,000 talents, or 75,000 pounds a year. Philip, a military genius, led his own troops into battle. Amazingly he survived an arrow that blinded him in one eye. The Macedonian phalanx, his "secret weapon", was sectioned into a 16 man by 16 man square of armored foot soldiers, bristling with their 14 foot long spears. The first five ranks leveled their spears to attack the front, and the ranks behind rested their lances skyward on the soldiers in front to provide a barrier against arrows. These squares of weaponry could be deployed with infinte variety depending on the terrain and the opposing forces.

Philip's loss of an eye, according to Plutarch, the ancient historian, was foretold by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. Philip had looked through a peephole into his wife's, Olympias', bedchamber, and saw her cavorting with the god Ammon, who had assumed the form of a serpent. Further legend claims that Alexander himself was the offspring of this union. But the oracle warned that Philip's eye which viewed this god's visitation would be lost to him. Plutarch speculates that Philip lost interest in Olympias after that, and although he was proud of Alexander as his son; the bitter seeds of discontent had been sown.

Philip, also an adept diplomat and schemer, employed various means to advance his political ambitions. He formed alliances by marriage, (he had at least six wives at different times). He helped provoke and aggravate the traditional rivalries amongst the Greek city-states. His gold was useful in bribing the disaffected elements of these southern cities. The Greeks of Athens, Corinth, Thebes, Sparta and the other city-states certainly had not forgotten the Persian threat from Asia Minor, and many Greeks, led by Isocrates of Athens, saw Philip more as an ally than an enemy. In a display for potential unification, Philip presided over the games in 346 B.C. at the Panhellenic sanctuary at Delphi, sacred to Apollo. Philip himself was a victor in the chariot race of the Olympic games. Demosthenes of Athens, one of the most famous orators of all time, railed effectively against Philip and his ambitions, so when Philip moved agressively into Greece, Athens and Thebes fielded an army to oppose him. Too little and too late, the Greek resistance to the Macedonians met with complete defeat at Chaeronea in 338 B.C. Philip's treaty with Thebes was harsh, but he treated Athens quite easily, apparently out of sentiment and his respect for this center of Greek culture.

Philip's life of conquest was cut short by an assassin's blade, for in 336 B.C. he was murdered at a wedding feast. He had been preparing to invade the Persian empire, so possibly agents of the Great King organized the plot. Plutarch believes that Olympias, an ex-wife and mother of Alexander the Great, was the mastermind, and friends of Alexander that Philip and his current wife had mistreated were the perpetrators. Plutarch also describes another drunken feast during which Philip and Alexander exchange angry words, Philip came close to attacking Alexander. Whoever the instigator, Alexander was the beneficiary. At the age of 20 Alexander ascended to the Macedonian throne and began his lifelong conquest of the known world.

The coinages in the name of Philip II were vast, and are an amazing boon to modern collectors, since large numbers have survived in hoards. His territories covered many prosperous territories and city states and their busy economies required large quantities of gold, silver and bronze coins. The name and coin designs of Philip continued to be struck for 40 years after his death, partly to honor his achievements, and partly to maintain needed coinages on the Macedonian weight standard for those regions. Perhaps the minting of Philip's gold staters alongside the Alexander's gold staters celebrated Philip's victories as well as paid the ongoing expenses of his planned attack on the Persian empire. The Thraco- Macedonian silver tetradrachm, as in this ad, weighed 14.4 grams. Alexander the Great issued his prolific silver tetradrachms (watch for part II of the coins of the Macedonian Kingdom "Alexander Conquers the World") on the Attic (Athenian) standard of 17.2 grams. The gold staters of Philip were the same 8.6 gram pure gold standard as Alexander's. Very little is known about the denominations and purchasing power of the Macedonian bronzes (many closer to a brass alloy), but the dies and planchets were well prepared.

The relative values of gold and silver in ancient times ranged from 9:1 to 14:1 with a persistent mention of 10:1 in many marketplaces. Given this ratio the gold stater would equal 6 silver tetradrachms. In terms of purchasing power a silver tetradrachm could buy enough barley meal to feed a family of four for 5 months. Meat was a luxury compared to grain staples, and a young pig cost 3/4 of a tetradrachm. One fourth of a tetradrachm would buy 6 salted fish. One half would buy a gallon of wine. Sandals could cost 2 tetradrachms, and a tunic; 2 1/2. A child slave might sell for 18 tetradrachms and a skilled man could trade for 75. A normal ransom for a captured seasoned veteran soldier might be 50 tetradrachms. The same soldier was paid 1/2 a tetradrachm a day in war time and a sailor half of that. A valuable tool like a sickle could cost 12 tetradrachms. A hetaera or officially sanctioned prostitute received from 1/4 to 1 tetradrachm. The annual income of the Persian Empire was estimated at 25,000,000 tetradrachms.

Gold Staters in the name of Philip II of Macedonia.

Obverse: laureate head of Apollo engraved in fine style high relief. Philip identified with this major Greek god whose famous oracles were at Delphi. Reverse: Two horse chariot in high action, alluding to Philip's Olympic victory.

#1 nice EF, broad flan, Pella mint 340-328 B.C. $2477.

#2 EF, pleasing, Pella mint 340-315 B.C. $2177.

#3 EF+, oval flan, Amphipolis mint 340-315 B.C. $2077.

#4 EF, nice luster, Amphipolis mint 340-315 B.C. $2077.

 #5 EF++, nicely balanced strike, Amphipolis mint 340-328 B.C. $2477.

Gold staters in the name of Alexander the Great. Obv: head of Athena wearing a crested Corinthian helmet. Rev: Nike standing, holding the mast of a galley and laurel wreath.

#6 lustrous about unc.thunderbolt in rev. field, Macedonian mint, Amphipolis? 330-320 B.C. $2775.

#7 about unc, trident in rev. field, Macedonian mint, Amphipolis? 330-320 B.C. $2775.

#8 another issue as preceding, about unc. $2775.

Silver tetradrachms in the name of Philip II of Macedonia. Obverse: laureate head of Zeus, father of the gods of Olympus. Reverse: mostly naked youth holding palm branch riding on pacing horse. Plutarch describes the very young Alexander the Great winning a bet with his father. Alexander wagered that he could tame the beautiful but wild horse Bucephalus. Alexander had noticed that Bucephalus was spooked by his own shadow, so he turned the horse into the sun and calmed him down enough to ride and win his bet.

Most of the silver tetradrachms from recent finds are carefully test marked on the shoulder of the horse to show the purity of the silver. Ancient accounts of the 4th Century B.C. describe the official job of "coin tester" in Greek marketplace. If this government employee were not on duty during marketplace hours his punishment was 40 lashes. (This was sometimes fatal, usually debilitating, and always painful.) If a customer presented him with a silver coin he would make a sharp chisel cut into the coin. This would pierce a heavy silver layer and reach the copper core if the coin were a common type of ancient counterfeit known as a "fourre". A coin proven solid silver by the tester could readily be spent, since any merchant who refused a proven coin would have all his wares confiscated.

#9 obv: Zeus in nice style, rev: Philip riding horse to left, wearing kausia (broad brimmed hat), r. hand raised. Amphipolis mint, 355-348 B.C. VF, 3 rev. test cuts. $675.

#10 This and all following are Zeus / youth on horseback. Rev: thunderbolt below horse, Pella mint, 342-336 B.C. VF/F fine style, rev: test cut $675.

#11 rev: crescent moon under horse, Pella mint 336-328 B.C. nice style, no test cuts, perfect VF- EF, old collection toning $1477.

#12 rev: dolphin below horse, Amphipolis mint, 323-315 B.C. (The reign of Philip III, half- brother of Alexander). abt. unc. small spots of encrustation, rev. test cut. $675.

#13 another as preceeding, EF, broad flan, rev. test cut, light dirt. $575.

#14 rev: branch? beneath horse, Amphipolis mint, 323-315 B.C. EF, nice toning, test cut on edge and horse. $277.

#15 rev: flowering branch? beneath horse, Amphipolis mint, 323-315 B.C., abt. unc. slightly off center obv, test cut on edge and rev. $350.

#16 another as preceeding, choice abt. unc. with no test cuts $1477.

#17 rev: arrow (the instrument of Ammon's punishment) beneath horse, Amphipolis, 323-315 B.C.? rev. test cut, EF, pleasing light toning. $475.

Brass, or very yellow bronze, coins of Philip. Obv: Laureate head of Apollo. Rev: Usuall naked youth on prancing horse. These relatively low value coins combined some of the stately and exciting designs of the larger denominations. When new, these attractive coins had a bright golden color for the populace to admire. Our hoard varies from black, to green, to blue-green patinas, or no patina, and with varying amounts of dirt and encrustation. Please request, if you have a preference.

#18 head of Apollo right, rev: Philip riding right, wearing kausia. EF, light blue green surfaces, pictured $277. VF $127. F $47. VG $27.

#19 head of Apollo right, EF $177. VF pictured $77. Fine $37. VG $17.

#20 head of Apollo left, EF $297. VF $177. pictured F $57. VG $27.

Alexander the Great brass. Obv: head of Hercules wearing lion's skin headdress. Rev: club above, and quiver (of Hercules) below name: ALEXANDER.

#21 EF no patina $177.

#22 VF pictured, green patina with light dirt, $77. F $37. VG $17.

#23 brass 1/2 unit ? Obv: head of Apollo right, rev: prancing horse, Bucephalus? right, ALEXANDER above EF $157. VF no patina, pictured $77. F $37. VG $17.